At this Friday’s August 9th show at Nightfall, Chattanooga’s longest-running free summer concert series, headliner Parker Millsap takes the stage at Miller Plaza at 8pm, with local band The Foothills opening the show at 7pm.
In addition to featuring world class musicians each week, Nightfall features food trucks, local artisan vendors, kids’ activities and more.
Parker Millsap is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Purcell, Oklahoma who was nominated as an Americana Music Association’s “Emerging Artist of the Year" in 2014, along with Hurray For The Riff Raff, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Valerie June, and Sturgill Simpson.
Influenced by the music he learned growing up in the Pentecostal Church and the Blues Radio Times, he also absorbed the honest lyrics of Townes Van Zandt, Mississippi John Hurt’s fingerpicking, and classic albums like Graceland and Rumors. His own musical style represents a blend of blues, country, alt-country/Americana, and folk music.
In addition to being known for his show-stopping voice, Millsap plays acoustic and slide guitar, piano and harmonica. He remains both poignant and poetic, glorying in careful wordplay and smart, story-centric writing laced with soulful presence, compelling vocals and plenty of acoustic guitars.
Still a young artist, he has already released five albums, ranging from the spare acoustic tone of his early-2010s output to the more nuanced structure of 2018’s rock-driven Other Arrangements, the singer and songwriter continued to hone the layers of his sound heading into the next decade.
His fifth album, 2021's Be Here Instead, was recorded live in the studio with a full band, and he fused acoustic and electronic instruments for 2023's Wilderness Within You.
Opening for Parker Millsap at 7pm will be the Chattanooga trio The Foothills. The Foothills blend a diverse range of Americana traditions - folk, country, blues, soul and bluegrass - in an effort to create timeless musical statements that delicately balance artistic integrity and popular appeal. Drawing comparisons to John Prine, Jason Isbell, and the SteelDrivers, The Foothills’ lyrics are painfully honest and often autobiographical. They have released two albums.
Free motorcycle parking will continue to be offered on M.L.King Boulevard between Georgia Avenue and Lindsey Street. Motorcycles must enter the block from Lindsey Street only. A tasty variety of local food trucks will be around the intersection of Georgia and M.L.King, and around 20 local artisans will offer their work for sale in Miller Park.
Kids can also enjoy The Chattanooga Football Club’s inflatable soccer field and other children’s activities, including face painting and lawn games. And be sure to come early to Nightfall to take advantage of a new “Nightfall Happy Hour” offering weekly drink specials from 5:30-6:30pm.
No outside food or beverages are allowed to be brought into Nightfall since concession sales are a primary funder of Nightfall (outside alcoholic beverages are prohibited by law at Miller Park/Plaza).
Known for its family-friendly environment as well as being recognized nationally for the quality of its musical programming, Nightfall is a family-friendly concert series that brings the Chattanooga community together in the heart of our city. Nightfall has again been nominated this year as “Best Local Event” by this community.
Nightfall is locally produced by Chattanooga Presents. For more information on this FREE community concert series, visit NightfallChattanooga.com.